dear fox,
you are four whole years old. almost a whole hand. i can’t even stand it. you were so dang excited to turn four! you loved to tell people that your birthday was close, and that you would be four, and that in one more year, you will be five and you can have gum. because we have always told you that you can’t have gum until you are five.
i have said it before and i will say it until i am blue in the face.. you are seriously the most sweet, sensitive little soul. that has not changed. in fact, it has only become stronger and more apparent over the past year. you love to give hugs, to tell people you love them, to sing songs to your sister, to comfort someone when they are sad, and always give a shoulder to cry on. you are so in tune with the feelings of those around you, and it is comforting to see your compassion shine through.
you are very particular. you like to have things a certain way, and you do not like change. if something is one way the first time, you better believe it needs to be the same way every single time after that. you get frustrated and upset when something isn’t just the way you expect it to be. you are organized and meticulous. you have the sharpest memory and will ask us about things from years ago – no kidding.
you are a smarty pants. you can count past twenty. you say the alphabet forward and backward. you can write your name, love to color, and draw some really awesome happy and sad faces. you can listen to a song a few times and then we will hear you belting out the chorus. you are very musical, you always want to listen to your favorite songs (including "someday you will be loved" by death cab for cutie, "don’t give me up" by gothic tropic, and "i’m the one" by the descendents) and you were excited to get a karaoke machine for your birthday. you love to perform, and always want to be on stage. you will perform for us daily, and always end each show with a bow. you are always very proper.
you will be in preschool at miss meg’s again this year, for your second year of preschool. you absolutely loved your first year, and you thrived. school is your thing. you love to learn, you love the order that exists, you love to follow directions, and you love making friends. at the playground, i often overhear you asking a total stranger if he or she wants to be your friend. it is heart warming. you are really into the solar system, trains, and bodies. your favorite book in school was "the body book" where you learned all about internal organs and the digestive system. it is fascinating to you.
you like to play outside, and are always going and doing. you played soccer last fall and spring, and like it much better in the spring. it took you awhile to come around to the sport. you also love to ride your scooter, and just got a balance bike for your birthday. you were excited about it, but still a little confused as to why it doesn’t have pedals. you love to go to the park, play on the playground, throw rocks into the stream, go hiking, do cannon balls at the pool, and dig in the dirt. you are also passionate about going to lagoon, and rattlesnake rapids is your favorite ride.
your imagination is something else. you are always pretending to be someone or something. you love to play super heroes, you love to be spider man. you love to play make-believe with your cousin, nora. you have brought some of those make-believe games home to play with stella.. you will tell stella, "honey, it’s time to go to the store!" or "sweetie, it’s time for bed!" – it’s pretty adorable. i can always catch you having some sort of conversation with an imaginary friend or two, and you are often repeating things you hear at home, and it reminds me just how observant you really are.
you love to cook and help out in the kitchen. your favorite thing to do is make chocolate chip cookies (and then proceed to eat half of the dough). you always want to help your dad or me with whatever chore is at hand. you like to help with dinner, but more often than not, you will ask us if we can just make a call and order some pepperoni pizza. your favorite. you have been eating a lot more lately, after going through a long phase of never really eating too much. your breakfast favorites include mini pancakes, any type of fruit, and the occasional bite of eggs. for lunch you always want salami, cheese, and crackers.. but chickfila is another favorite. you’ve been awesome at eating whatever we are having for dinner, and you are good to finish everything on your plate. sometimes you don’t like what you try, but it is great that you will at least give anything and everything a shot.
you love stella sue. your friendship has become something dreams are made of. you always ask where she is, what she is doing, and are the most protective big brother. you love to give her hugs and cuddle up to her. you speak to her in a sweet, sing-song voice that makes my heart burst. you show her how to do things and she is 100% obsessed with you. she looks up to you SO much, and for the most part, you are a great example! aside from the times you teach her how to spit or scream. of course you guys have your moments where it’s hard to share or you just need your space, but overall, you just love each other to bits.
you are still taking a nap every day, probably because you typically go to sleep around 8:30 or 9 and always, without fail, wake up by 6 AM. you are good to wake up on your own, turn on one of your favorite shows, and wait for the rest of the house to wake up closer to 7. after a few hours, your little brain and body need some mid-day rest, so you will crash for about an hour or two around 1 o’clock. i have no idea when you will drop your nap, but for now.. it’s great. you and stells nap at the same time, and are always ready to go on a fun adventure after you both wake up.
you always want to go on an adventure. you ask me every morning what we will be doing that day. you also ask me who is watching you. you’re a good sport.. i don’t like leaving you and going to work most days of your life, but you are always happy to have someone care for you, as long as we have something fun planned for after i get home. and as long as you know exactly how things are going to go down. right now dad stays home monday and tuesday, you have a nanny wednesday and thursday, and nana sue watches you friday. jordynn stopped being your nanny last may, and you were so sad. you still always tell me that you miss jordynn and love her the most. it’s pretty sweet. but you have lucked out with more good nannies – you had kenna all summer long, who always took you to do fun things like the splash pad, pool, zoo, or park. and recently hayley started watching you, and you love the days she comes over.
you are growing, growing, growing. you wear a lot of 5t clothes. you wear size 11 shoes. you are 42" tall and weigh 40 pounds. you are going to pass me up before i know it! you have switched to a booster seat in the car, which you think is pretty dang cool. you always tell me that you are big and strong, and that you need to finish your meal so you can beat stella in a race. you haven’t had your 4 year check up yet, but i am confident that you are right on pace for a little guy your age.
speaking of confidence.. you have a lot of it. like a whole load of it. i can always find you whispering under your breath, "i can do this.. i can do this!" it’s so great to see you try things and accomplish them, and have the confidence to try things over and over again if you don’t get it the first time. you make me so proud.
it is pretty mind-blowing that you’re four. it seems like you were just a little newborn, like, a few months ago.. but here you are. four years old. this past year has been a lot of fun. like i said, you had your first year of preschool. you had fun playing soccer. we went to california in april, and st. george in august. you love the boat and and beach. you had tons of cousin adventures. you played with your best mate, stevie (and jessica and molly) a whole lot. you went to your first concert (death cab for cutie) and you went to lagoon more times than i can count.
you are such a treat to have in our family. you make everyone happy and you remind us to be sensitive and sweet, just like you. you teach us a lot. we are lucky to have you in our lives. happy four years, buddy. i better gear up for you to turn five.. and for you to have gum.
you are the very, very best.
love, your momma
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